Machine for inserting fastenings.



W. PRATT & G. PEGG.

MACHINE FOR INSERTING FASTENINGS. APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1913.

1,21 9,484, Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

14 5Q 5\I I J 7 W/TA/ESSES. 5 l a e r e stares PATENT option WILLIAM PRATT AND GERALD PEGG, 0E LEICESTER, ENGLAND, A-SSIGNORS TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR INSERTING FASTENINGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM PRATT and inn-mo Pnee, subjects of the King of England, residing at Leicester, in the county of Leicester, England, have invented certain Improvements in Machines for Inserting Fastenings, of which the following descr ption, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is specification, like reference cln-iracters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to machines for driving dowels, pins, or nails of a type sometimes referred to as bill nails, or like shaped faste-nings, and particularly to the means for feeding said fastenings into position to be operated upon by the separating mechanism and for separating the endmost fastening from the others and delivering itto the driving mechanism.

The invention is herein shown as embodied in a machine for handling steel bill nails, these nails being dowel-like in form, that is being so constructed that either end may be driven into the work and being of substantially uniform diameter between their ends. Since nails or pins of this type have no heads by which they can be controlled,

it is not practicable to guide and separate them by means of the ordinary raceway and separator, the most practicable way of conducting such nails, or pins, from the source of supply to the point of operation being to provide a raceway down which they can be fed lengthwise. For more detailed information as to the nature and uses of steel bill nails reference may be had to'British Letters Patent No. 21,14ei of 1903.

As above suggested, the invention relates.

more particularly to improvements in the means for transferring each fastening" in:

turn from the raceway into fastening driving position, whereby the fastenings can more readily be separated one by one and the speed of the machine can be increased, and a particular object of the invention is so to relate the separating and the delivery elements of the fastening presenting mechanism that the correct timing of these parts is insured.

An important feature of the improve ments in and relating to the fastening separating and fastening delivering mechanism is the provision of a movable section at the delivery end of the raceway into which section the endmost fastening of the line of end-to-end fastenings may enter and by which it may be carried away from the other fastenings and delivered either directly to the inserting mechanism, or tea transferring carrier by which it may ultimately be conveyed to the inserting mechanism.

Other objects and important features of the invention will appear from the following description anl claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which-- Figure 1 is a front elevation of the principal parts of the mechanism constituting the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to F l, partly in section and showing the parts in the position in whichthe nail is delivered to the carrier;

.Fig. 3 is a detailed plan view of the nail receiving end of the carrier showing the yielding side wall which permits the return of-tlie carrier before the driver is raised; and

Fig. is a detailed plan view of the nail receiving throat showing the provision for clearing thethroat in case of clogging The machine. to which the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown as applied is of thegenera'l type more fully disclosed and described in United States Letters Patent to'L. Goddu No. 490,62 January 24, 1893, and comprises an awl 2 carried by an awl bar 4 arranged to reciprocate vertical] y in a swinging head in which also re ciprocates a driver 6 carried by a driver bar 8, the 'awl and its bar and the driver and its bar swinging laterally with the head, whereby the awl may feed the work as the head swings in one direction and the driver may be brought into operative position over the awl hole in the work, as the head returns to its original position.

The raceway 10 also swings laterally with the swinging head in the same manner as the raceway shown in the Letters Patent to Goddu, above identified. The raceway 10 differs in its general construction from the raceway of the forementioned Letters Pat ent in that instead of being provided with a deep groove in which depend the shanks of headed nails, the raceway of the present invention is provided with a comparatively shallow groove 12 down which the steel bill nails are adapted to slide end to end. A cover 14: ofthe usual"type is provided to prevent the nails from overriding or from being thrown out of the raceway.

As above suggested, an important feature of the invention is the provision of improved means for transferring the steel bills from the raceway into position beneath the driver. I11 the illustrated preferred embodiment of the invention, a loose section 16 provided with a continuation of the groove 12 of the raceway is pivoted at 18 to the end of the raceway 10, so that it turns about a center that coincides approximately with the point at which the groove 12 of the raceway 10 ends, and this section is adapted at times to be swung into a position in which its groove forms a continuation of the groove 12 in the raceway 10, whereby it may receive a bill from the raceway, and at times to be swung downwardly either by gravity alone or by means of a spring 19, into a substantially vertical position so as to discharge the bill carried thereby into a bill carrier 20 at- 7 tached to the front end of a slide 22.

In order to prevent the bills from falling out of the loose section 16 while in its vertical position, the said section is provided with inwardly projecting portions 24 which slightly overlap the bill and thus form a cover. In order to move the aforementioned loose section 16 from its vertical position shown in Fig. 2 into the position in which its groove is in alinement with that of the raceway, the slide 22 is so guided in a guideway 26 formed in a saddle piece 28, that as it moves in the direction'to carry the bill carrier 20 into position beneath the driver, a tappet 30 upon the slide 22 will engage the undersurface 32 of the loose section 16 and swing the said section upward. The slide 22 is preferably moved in its nail delivering direction by means of a spring 84: attached at one end to a stud 36 and at its other end to the end of said slide remote from the driver. In order to return the slide 22 into its nail receiving position and to allow the loose section 16 of the raceway to be moved downwardly by its spring 19, a lever 38 is provided which is pivoted at its upper end in the aforementioned swinging head of the machine. The lever 88 has formed thereon a cam surface 40 against which normally bears a roller 42 pivoted upon the awl bar 4.

As the awl bar 4 moves down to force the awl into the work, the lever 38 will be swung on its pivot toward the left in Fig. 1, and by engagement with the stud 4i projecting from the front side of the slide 22' will move the said slide against the tension of the spring 3st. A. slot 46 inthe front wall of the slideway permits the free movement of the stud 44: with the slide 22.

As above pointed out, the slide 22 carries the steel bill carrier 20 which is adapted to receive one of the bills 48 which has passed into the loose section 16 of the raceway while said section is in its uppermost position and which has been carried away from the other bills in the raceway as the said section has been turned into its vertical nail delivering position. This carrier 20 is situated beneath the said loose section 16 when said section is in its vertical position and is so constructed and arranged that when in this position a passage 50 in the said carrier will be in alinement with the nail guiding groove in said section, so that the bill can fall from the section into said passage 50.

In order that the slide 22 may be returned into its nail receiving position immediately after the driver has driven the bill into the work and before the driver is actually clear of the passage and thus save time in the cycle of operations, the said passage is formed partly in a portion of .the slide or carrier and partly in a loose member 52 which is pivoted to the said slide at 54: and is held normally in closed position by a spring 56 carried upon a forward projection 58 of said slide. The spring surrounds a stud 60 on said projection 58 and bears at one end against a stop 62 of said projection and at its other end against said loose member 52. From the foregoing description it will be understood that the loose section 52 will yield when the driver is situated in the passage and the slide is moved toward its nail receiving position.

To prevent the bills from sliding down the groove or track 12 in the raceway 10 when the loose section 16 has been moved into its nail delivering position, a bell-crank lever 64 is pivoted to a bracket 66 formed on or carried by the raceway and is acted on by a spring 68 whichnormally holds one end 70 of said bell-crank in contact with the bill. next to be delivered to the loose section. The other arm of the bell-crank is arranged so that its contact face 72 lies in the path of an adjustable abutment or stop, herein shown as a screw threaded through a lug 7 6 upon the end of the slide 22 remote from the driver. WVhen the slide is moved in its nail delivering direction by the action of the spring 34:, the said abutment 74 will contact with the contact face 7 2 of the bell-crank and will swing the .end

.rier into alinement with the driver-passage in a throat 7S and the bill which has been carried in said passage falls by gravity into the driver-passage in the throat 7S and remains therein until driven into the work by the driver. The driver-passage in the throat 78 is formed partly in a member rigidly attached to the swinging head and partly in a member 80 pivoted at 82 upon the rigid member and held normally in closed position by a spring actuated dog Set, the dog 8% being pivoted at 86 upon the member 80, and having a tooth SS entering a socket of the aforementioned rigid member. The dog Sat is provided with a handle 90 so that it may be swung on its pivot against the action of the spring 92 to move its tooth or pin 88 out of the'socket in the rigid member, continued movement of the said dog about its pivot serving to swing the pivot member 80 on its pivot, so that the throat will be open to permit a defective bill to be removed therefrom.

In order that the carrier 20 may be moved into such position that its passage 50 is in exact alinement withthe driver-passage in the throat 78, the slide 22 carries in its lug 76 a second adjustable stop 94: in the form of a setscrew provided with a knurled head by which it may readily be turned. This screw is adapted to contact with the slideway to limit the movement of the slide 22 in the nail delivering directionand by adjusting the screw in one or the other direction, the limit of the inward movement of the slide can be varied.

The operations of the various parts of the machine will readily be understood from the foregoing description, but in order that the invention andits mode of operation may be setforth in less detailed form, the operation of the machine :as a whole will be briefly summarized. Assuming that'the awl 2 has pierced the work and through the medium of its roller i2 and the cam d0 onthe lever 38 has moved the slide 22 against the tension of the spring 34 and that-one of the bills L8 is in the passage 50 of the carrier 20, the work will first be fed, the awl retracted from the work and then the head returned to its original position. This will bring the hole formed in the work bythe awl into alinement with the driver 6 and the retraction of the awl will allow the slide 22 under the action of its spring 34k to move into such position that the bill carrier 20 will arrive under the driver 6 and over the driver-passage in the throat 78. This movement of the slide 22 will, through the medium of its tappet 30, swing the loose section of the raceway 16 so that its groove or track is in alinement with the groove or track 12 of the raceway 10. The bell-crank lever 64: through the medium of the abutment or stop 7% on the slide 22 will also be swung about its pivot, so that its end 70 is moved out of engagement with the lowermost bill in the groove 12. This bill will then fall down by gravity into the groove in the loose section 16. The driver 6 having driven the bill into the work and having retired therefrom, the awl 2 will then descend and pierce the work in a new place. In its descent its roll 42 will contact with the cam lO on the lever 38 and swing it about its pivot and move its slide 22 against the action of its spring 34: and this movement of the slide will allow the bellcrank lever 6' to be swung on its pivot by its spring 68, whereby its lower end 70 will be brought into engagement with the lowermost bill in groove 12 of the raceway 10 and thus prevent the bills from sliding down or out of the raceway. The loose section 16 will also be moved by its spring 19 into its vertical position in which position it discharges its bill into the bill carrier 20.

As previously mentioned the timing of the parts can be such that the slide can be moved backwardly before the driver is clear of the passage in the bill carrier, it being understood that the driver in driving the bill passes through the said passage. Conveniently the mouth of the passage in the bill carrier and in the throat may be made flaring so that the bills shall be directed into the passage and throat more readily.

Having thus indicated the nature and scope of the invention and having described in detail a machine embodying the invention in a preferred form, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In a machine of the class described, a raceway down which fastenings gravitate end to end, a fastening carrier, a device for transferring the fastenings from said raceway to said fastening carrier comprising a movable section arranged to oscillate between twopositions, in one of which it forms a continuation of said raceway and receives endwise a single fastening of the line of fastenings in said raceway, and in the other of which it discharges said fastening under the actionof gravity to said fastening carrier, and means for operating said carrier to deliver said fastening to the point at which it is to be operated upon.

2. In a machine of the class described, a raceway down which fastenings gravitate end to end, a reciprocatory fastening carrier having a vertical fastening receiving opening, and a fastening transferring member operated automatically by movement of said carrier from a position in which it forms an extension of the raceway and receives endwise one of the line of fastenings in said raceway to a second position in'which it places said fastening in vertical position in said carrier preparatory to being driven.

3. In a machine of the class described, an inclined raceway downwhich fastenings gravitate end to end, a fastening carrier having a vertical fastening receiving opening, said carrier being movable between a fastening receiving position and a fastening delivering position, and means for transferring a fastening from said inclined raceway into the vertical opening in said carrier comprising a member arranged to swing between an inclined position in which it receives a single fastening from said raceway and a vertical position in which it discharges said fastening in upright position into the vertical opening in said carrier.

4. In a machine of the class described, an inclined raceway down which fastenings gravitate end to end, a fastening carrier, means for operating said carrier to transfer the fastenings to the pointat which they are to be operated upon, means for receiving endwise and separating the endmost fasten ing of the line of fastenings in said raceway from the remaining fastenings and presenting it in vertical position to said carrier, andmeans operated automatically by said carrier to control movement of the line of fastenings in the raceway.

5. In a machine of the class described, an inclined raceway down which fastenings gravitate end to end, fastening transferring means comprising a reciprocatory carrier, a member adapted to swing between a position in which it form-s a continuation of said raceway and receives endwise the endmost fastening in said raceway and a position in which it presents the fastening in upright position to said carrier, and means operated automatically by said carrier as it move-s into nail receiving position to prevent movement of the fastenings down said raceway.

6. In a machine of the class described, a fastening raceway down which fastenings gravitate end to end, a fastening carrier movable between a fastening receiving position and a fastening delivering position, said carrier being provided with a vertical fastening receiving opening, means for transferring a fastening from said raceway to said carrier comprising a member arranged to swing between a position in which it forms a continuation of said raceway and a position in which it delivers a fastening in upright position to said carrier, and a driver for driving the fastening, said driver being arranged to pass through the fastening receiving opening of said carrier when said carrier is in fastening delivering position and said carrier being so constructed that it may return to fastening receiving position before the driver is withdrawn from said fastening receiving opening.

7. In a machine of the class described, a raceway down which fastenings gravitate end to end, a fastening carrier, a fastening transferring member constructed and arranged to receive a fastening from said raceway and transfer said fastening to said fastening carrier, and means for operating said fastening carrier to take a fastening from the transferring member and deliver it into position to be operated upon.

8. In a machine of the class described, a raceway down which fastenings gravitate end to end, a fastening carrier movable between two positions in one of which positions it receives a fastening and in the other of which positions it places the fastening in position to be operated upon, and fastening transferring means movable between two positions in one of which positions the endmost fastening in said raceway is received in said transferring means and in the other of which positions said endmost fastening is delivered to said fastening carrier.

9. In a machine of the class described, a raceway down which fastenings gravitate end to end, a fastening carrier, means operated by said carrier for transferring fastenings from said raceway to the carrier, and means for operaing said carrier and thereby moving said fastening transferring means to take a fastening from the raceway and deliver it to said carrier.

10. In a machine of the class described, a raceway down which fastenings gravitate end to end, a fastening carrier constructed and arranged to carry a fastening into position to be operated upon, means for receiving and transferring a fastening from said raceway to said carrier, and means controlled by movement of said fastening carrier for engaging the endmost fastening in the raceway and preventing movement of the line of fastenings down said raceway when said fastening rec'eiving means is not in fastening receiving position.

11. In a machine of the class described, a raceway down which the fastenings gravitate end to end, a fastening carrier constructed and arranged to carry a fastening into position to be operated upon, means for receiving and transferring the endmost fastening in the raceway to said fastening carllO rier, and means for preventing movement of In testimony whereof we have signed our 10 the line of fastenings down the raceway names to this specification in the presence of when said transferring means is not in fastwo subscribing Witnesses.

tening receiving position, said fastening car- WVILLIAM PRATT rier being operatively connected with the GERALD PEGG means for preventing movement of the line of fastenings down the raceway and with the WVitnesses:

fastening transferring means'to control the KATHERINE PEX'roN,

operative movements of both said means. CLAUD BENNION.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

- Washington, D. C. 

